Dragonflames
by Starian NightZz
Summary: Extreme AU. Hilda is three years older than canon. The war never happened, and Tom Riddle never became Voldemort. Determined to become the world's top curse breaker due to her parents' deaths, Hilda Potter had to juggle life, work and a long distance relationship with Charlie Weasley while handling the domineering Weasley matriarch. Charlie/Fem!Harry
1. The Road Ahead

_Summary:_

_Extreme AU. Hilda is three years older than canon. The war never happened, and Tom Riddle never became Voldemort. Determined to become the world's top curse breaker due to her parents' deaths, Hilda Potter had to juggle life, work and a long distance relationship with Charlie Weasley while handling the domineering Weasley matriarch. Charlie/Fem!Harry_

I had this sudden idea with all the 'what-ifs' running around my head—that what will happen if Tom Riddle had never became Voldemort, and the war had never happened. Basically, while it isn't such a perfect world, it is much better than the canon world.

Anyway, this story is extremely AU. This is a story where the war had never happened, and hence, no prophecy or Boy-Who-Lived (or Girl-Who-Lived). Hilda is three years older than canon, and is best friends with Percy along with a few original characters. As a result, Percy won't be quite so pompous in this story, as I did like him as a character.

The war never happened, hence, Alice and Frank Longbottom are still sane. But Lily and James Potter are dead—but not due to what happened in canon. Sirius raised Hilda as his own with his wife after the deaths of his best friends. Peter will be portrayed quite differently in this story, with a wife and two kids, as there isn't any reason for him to betray his friends.

Hermione, Ron and Ginny won't play so much of a central role in this story as they are _way_ younger than Hilda and her friends, though Ron will be pretty much portrayed as the 'bad guy' here. Narcissa Black was forced into a marriage with Lucius Malfoy—but after years of abuse even after the birth of her only child, she fled to her sister and cousin for help with her baby where Lucius Malfoy was then charged with abuse and sentenced to life imprisonment. Narcissa remarried about a year after that—to Remus Lupin. Also, while I like the Weasleys, a few of them won't be portrayed in a positive light.

Whatever AU events that had happened in this story will be explained down the road—don't worry. I like to take things slow, but everything will be explained. The story will start during Hilda's seventh year (which in canon is the year when Sirius escaped from Azkaban).

Hilda will be much more intelligent and magically powerful in this story, as her clique of friends are all an earnest and studious bunch—as compared to 'friends' like Ron in canon who hates studying.

Also, in case you'd missed the note—there will be quite a number of OCs in this story. Some of Hilda's best friends and even her younger brother (Sirius' son) will be OCs. Most people generally disliked OCs as they normally turned out as 'flat characters'. I won't make any promises here, but whatever OCs that appeared in this story _will_ be developed.

Hilda's relationship with Charlie begun during Charlie's seventh year. She is three years younger than him—in Percy's year. And as Bill and Charlie never really appeared much in this story, I am writing them based on what I know. And as stated, Percy will be different in this story due to the influences of Hilda and his friends in his life.

The schooling years for Hilda will only last a few chapters in this story. This story focuses on 'adult life' after Hogwarts, and I definitely don't remember ever reading a story like that before in this fandom. Also, while I do take a few things from my _Different Beginnings_ story, this takes place in an entirely different universe as compared to that story.

Now that you had some idea of what this story is going to be like, I hope you enjoy it. I never did like sticking a story so close to canon. In my opinion, if you want canon, go and read the books or watch the movies. Also, my advice here: please read the author notes before leaving a review asking questions that had already been answered or even complaining about things that have already been explained. It is freaking annoying having to answer the same questions over and over again.

Anyway, now that you know what to expect, on with the story!

**Pairings:** Charlie/Hilda. Percy/Penelope. Possible Joshua/Alexis.

**Warnings:** Extreme AU. Nicer Percy. Quiet and nicer Draco. Slight Ron and Molly bashing. Hilda is three years older than canon. OCs.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter and any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

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><p><strong>Chapter One: The Road Ahead<strong>

Seventeen-year-old Hilda Potter could only roll her eyes as she exchanged exasperated looks with her best friend, Alexis Longbottom, even as the two girls stood there listening to the list of instructions that their individual parents were heaping on them—as well as on their younger siblings.

Or in Hilda's case, her godfather Sirius Black and his wife, Marlene McKinnon (now Black)—seeing as both her parents have passed when she was about three, and the couple have then taken her in and raised her as their own after that.

Not one of them—Hilda, Sirius, Marlene and even Sirius' son, Christian liked to talk about how the adoption had come to pass. Along with Remus Lupin (Aunt Cissy's husband and Draco's stepfather), Uncle Peter, Uncle Frank and Aunt Alice, Sirius and Marlene have been very close friends with Hilda's parents throughout their years at school, and even after that. When the couples have married right out of school, all of them have bought houses near each other so that they could go over and visit if they want to, especially when their individual wives got pregnant.

Alice Longbottom and Lily Potter have gotten pregnant a couple of months after their marriages, and they along with all their friends and husbands have joked that they should engage their children together once they're old enough. When it is discovered that they both have daughters as their first-borns, the two women have then declared that their daughters will be like sisters.

Hilda was just a little past three when Sirius and Marlene have both adopted her—even with Marlene expecting her first child then. She had been a complete mess then, and barely spoke a word to anyone, not even to Alexis—Frank and Alice's daughter, and almost like Hilda's sister. And after seeing her own parents die in front of her like that, it is enough to traumatise any child.

It is bad enough that the Potter couple have passed away overseas when they have brought their only child on their first overseas holiday—thus forcing the barely three year old child to cope with her parents' deaths by herself. It was nearly two days after the deaths of the Potter couple before Sirius, Marlene, Frank and Alice could head to Egypt where the Ministry authorities have been caring for the traumatised child ever since the deaths of her parents.

Sirius and Marlene have quickly adopted the child, raising her as their own. And with Alice's suggestion, Sirius had approached his favourite cousin—Andromeda Tonks nee Black who is a certified Healer and therapist to help his goddaughter.

The therapy sessions had helped, as Hilda had started talking again, much to the relief of the adults, but she had been much quieter than before. Despite that, Alexis had stuck by the side of her best friend, never pressuring her to talk. It had gotten better after Sirius and Marlene's son, Christian was born. Hilda was delighted to be an older sister to the child, and doted on him, often helping to give Marlene a break when Hilda had helped to babysit the child. Frank and Alice's second child was born around that time as well, and it seemed to be what Hilda needed to smile once more, and laugh like she had before her parents' deaths.

"Now you three, stay out of trouble _this_ year!" Marlene said sternly, directing the set of directions more towards Christian than the other two third years. "I don't want to receive another letter from Professor Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall about finding you in the Forbidden Forest _again!"_

Christian is almost a carbon copy of his father—from his black hair to his blue eyes, and much to Marlene's dismay and Sirius' delight, is quite a mischievous one. Fortunately for Marlene however, he didn't inherit his father's love for pranks, but that didn't stop him from dragging his best friend and cousin—Neville Longbottom and Draco Lupin-Black into trouble all the time. If it hadn't been for Hilda and Alexis who have kept an extra pair of eyes on them all the time—as the two were in Gryffindor House along with Neville and Christian whereas Draco was sorted in Ravenclaw along with their muggleborn best friend, Hermione Granger—the trio of troublemakers would have detentions littering their school records. Marlene had already lost count of the number of times when she'd received a letter from Hogwarts' Deputy Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, telling her what her little troublemaker is up to this time.

The worst had to be the year before last when the trio of boys were dared to go into the Forbidden Forest as a 'show of bravery' by the boys in their year—Hogwarts' annual tradition or something, as Marlene definitely remember this happening to the boys when _she_ was in school. Unfortunately for the first years at that time, they failed to take into account that the fifth year Gryffindor Prefects (Percy and Hilda) had the job to make sure that every single member of their House is in their dorms and asleep by curfew, and when they have seen the empty beds, they have sounded the alarm.

Hermione was the one to tell the older students where their missing siblings are, as Percy, Hilda and Alexis' Ravenclaw best friends and also fellow Prefects (Joshua Lieben and Penelope Clearwater) have also sounded the alarm upon discovering Draco's empty bed in the Ravenclaw Tower. Accompanied by their DADA professor, Professor Tom Riddle—Headmaster Dumbledore's adopted son, the four Prefects have headed straight into the Forbidden Forest to retrieve their wayward siblings.

The trio of first years have received a month long detention scrubbing cauldrons under the watchful eye of their potions professor, Professor Myrtle Riddle—Tom Riddle's wife, or even writing a fifty foot long essay on the dangers of the Forbidden Forest, and even what they would find in there under Tom's stern eye.

Their parents were none too pleased about it either, and have actually came up to the school to give their children a private scolding in the offices of their individual heads of houses.

While Christian was sulky that both his parents have taken his broom away for a month once the holidays begun, he felt guilty at having caused his sister so much panic. Christian had even heard from Neville and Draco that Percy, Penelope, Alexis and Joshua have to bodily restrain her from marching into the Forbidden Forest alone before Professor Riddle could join them—having been the teacher on patrol duty that night.

"I know, Mum!" Christian cried out at last. "Stay out of trouble and all that! I'll stop getting dragged straight into trouble, okay?"

His cousin, Draco Lupin-Black rolled his eyes in annoyance, whilst Neville Longbottom chuckled nervously. With his parents tied up that day, Sirius and Marlene have offered to take him to London that day for the train. "You don't get dragged into trouble, Chris," he grumbled, arms crossed over his chest. "You _jump_ straight into trouble, and dragged the rest of us along for the ride!"

Draco Lupin-Black, formerly known as Malfoy had actually been Hilda and Christian's cousin, with his mother Narcissa being Sirius' cousin.

Like all pureblood families, Narcissa's family had promised her to the Malfoy family when she was barely three years old, and she had married Lucius Malfoy right out of school. But that's when the trouble begun, as Lucius Malfoy is an abusive husband, and had often hit Narcissa. Her own family didn't even try to help her, merely telling Narcissa to keep her head down and all that. The abuse got even worse even after her son was born. Finally, after Draco had turned a year old, Narcissa could take it no more and had fled straight to her older sister, Andromeda Tonks who was disowned by her family after marrying a muggleborn, Ted Tonks, who had been a highly sought after lawyer in both worlds—the muggle world and the magical world.

Andromeda was _furious_ at seeing all the bruises on her sister and nephew's bodies, and had contacted her cousin, Sirius Black immediately. Sirius had been an active Auror alongside Frank, Alice and James Potter after Hogwarts, and even after his marriage to Marlene, had still remained on the frontlines. He had quickly became one of the top Aurors in the force, second only to Alastor Moody.

The cousins, along with Ted Tonks have immediately filed abuse charges with Madam Bones, the head of the DMLE in the Ministry of Magic, with Ted digging out every single bit of dirt on the Black family and Lucius Malfoy. The end result is that Lucius was found guilty of abuse, and was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. In Magical Britain, the abuse of one's spouse and child is a serious crime, as there are barely enough magical children as it is, and hence, abuse of a magical child is a life sentence at Azkaban.

As for the Black family, they have a reputation for the dark arts as it is, and it isn't too difficult to dig out their crimes. Whatever members that aren't sent through the Veil for their horrendous crimes were sent to Azkaban as well, but they likely wouldn't survive long in there.

Hence, as the Black lord, Sirius could easily dissolve Narcissa's marriage to Lucius Malfoy, and free both her son and her from the invisible chains that shackled them to the Malfoy family. Remus Lupin had been the one to help Narcissa with her life after that, often helping her to care for Draco when Narcissa, with her sister's encouragement, had decided to pursue her dreams of being a Healer, even joining her sister at her private Healer practice when she had gotten certified as a Healer. Narcissa and Remus have then gotten together as a couple not long after that, and had gotten married when Draco had turned two with their family and friends' blessings.

With their parents being such close friends with each other, Christian, Draco and Neville have grown up with each other—just like their older sisters, and shared an almost brotherly friendship with each other. One that stayed strong even when they have entered Hogwarts, with Draco being sorted into Ravenclaw, and Christian and Neville being sorted into Gryffindor.

The three boys knew that there are going to be problems when they first started at Hogwarts. Their parents have sat them down when they have turned nine, and explained Draco's situation to them. The scandal involving Draco, Narcissa and even the entire Malfoy and Black families were all over the _Daily Prophet_ when Sirius, Andromeda and Narcissa have decided to press charges against Lucius Malfoy for abuse.

Even though things aren't as bad in Britain now as during their time, with Cornelius Fudge becoming the Minister and trying to clean the corruption and the discrimination in the Ministry, there will still be people in Hogwarts who feels that just because Draco is Lucius Malfoy's biological son, he is dark. People have left Christian alone mainly because of who his parents are, and that Hilda had been a popular Prefect and student in Hogwarts.

Draco had been lucky that he was sorted into Ravenclaw, as that house is quite neutral, and he had even befriended a muggleborn witch who was the first one to talk to him on the first day of school, and had sat with him in classes. Hermione Granger had later joined the trio of boys, and was vital in keeping them out of trouble, and making sure that the trio actually studied.

The adults laughed at Draco's grumbles.

"Honestly, you three. Give Hilda and me a break this year at least, could you?" Alexis asked, rolling her eyes. "We have NEWTs to be worrying about this year—we don't need more to worry about. And I'm starting to wonder how Hilda is going to manage all her duties this year."

"It's called time management, Alexis." Hilda said matter-of-factly. "Go and look it up in a dictionary somewhere. I'm sure the meaning of the word is in there."

"Haha. Very funny." Alexis deadpanned whilst digging her elbow into her best friend's side, and both girls laughed.

"Right, you two." Alice Longbottom turned towards the two girls. "I realise that you both have NEWTs this year, and you need high scores for it due to your future career aspirations."

As Alexis wants to be an Auror like her parents, she requires high scores in DADA, Potions and Charms for it. Whereas Hilda is aiming to be a warder and a curse breaker for Gringotts, and despite her already going through a kind of summer internship with the curse breakers at the Gringotts' England branch for the past two years with the help of Bill Weasley, she still requires high scores for it, as she is aiming to be an international warder and curse breaker.

"Even still, I want you both to take proper breaks, and eat when you need to." Alice continued, knowing that the two girls will overwork themselves if no one stops them.

"Don't worry, dear." Frank Longbottom laughed, wrapping an arm around his wife's waist. "Joshua will at least make sure that they take breaks. He's also aiming to be a warder, isn't he, Hilda?" He asked Hilda who nodded. "All right. That's enough for the lectures, I think. It's time to board the train."

"Hilda, come here." Sirius Black wrapped an arm around his goddaughter's shoulders and led her away from the group as they started to load their trunks onto the train. "Are you sure that you want to be a curse breaker?" He asked anxiously. "It's a dangerous job, you know?"

Hilda rolled her eyes. "Sirius, we've already been through this," she said with a groan. "I _know_ how dangerous it is. Bill sent me a pretty detailed letter about the dangers of the job when he heard from Charlie that I wanted to be a curse breaker and a warder. It's what I want to do with my life."

Sirius was silent. He had a pretty good idea why Hilda wanted to be a curse breaker. "…Did Charlie say anything about it?" he asked, knowing that despite Charlie being three years Hilda's senior, and working in Romania on the dragon preserve right now, the two have still managed to maintain a long distance relationship with each other ever since Charlie's seventh year and Hilda's fourth year.

Hell, the only people not aware of their relationship are probably the Weasley matriarch and the two youngest Weasley siblings. Sirius could understand why the teenage couple wanted to keep it from Molly Weasley as well. She had never really liked Hilda all that much—probably because she is too much like Alexis, Marlene and Alice—being extremely headstrong and stubborn and wanting to do a job that had more guys than females. In other words, she isn't exactly that feminine, and doesn't act like how society thinks a 'proper witch' should act.

"He understands, Sirius." Hilda reassured him. "Working with dragons isn't exactly that safe either. Every job had its own risks. I'll be fine."

"Sirius! Hilda! It's time to board the train!" Marlene called out to them.

"All right. Time to go." Sirius said, kissing her forehead. "I'll see you and Chris at Christmas. Don't overwork yourself. And keep an eye on your brother. I don't need another letter from Dumbledore _or_ McGonagall, telling me that Chris had poked his nose somewhere where it doesn't belong _again."_

"I will." Hilda promised before hurrying towards the train.

Even as Sirius watched her go, he couldn't help but marvel where the three-year-old that he had raised to a teenager had gone. She just looks so much like her mother—like Lily. Sure, she had her father's colouring—with the black hair—though thankfully minus the untidy factor as Hilda's hair had always been silky, being kept at shoulder length, with her mother's green eyes. For some reason however, Hilda had always been really petite and small for her age.

"You would be proud of her, Lils, Prongs." Sirius whispered beneath his breath even as he watched the scarlet Hogwarts Express pull out of the station with a loud whistle, with the kids waving to their parents. "She's grown up well. I just wish that you could be here to see her."

**XXXXXX**

"And for goodness sake, stay out of trouble! I don't want _any_ prefect coming into our compartment, complaining that my little brother _and_ his band of friends have set up a Dungbomb under their seats or something!" Alexis Longbottom ranted even as Hilda dragged her best friend down the hallway of the Hogwarts Express after finding their younger siblings an empty compartment, dragging their trunks after them.

"WE GET IT ALREADY!"

"Honestly, I swear those imps are worse than the Weasley twins." Alexis groaned, rubbing her forehead. "I heard from Mom that Uncle Sirius and Uncle James used to be like that."

"Well, they're at that age." Hilda shrugged. "They'll soon grow out of it. Aunt Marlene said so." She then spied Penelope, Percy and Joshua sitting in the compartment that they're standing outside of. "Hey, the boys and Penny are in here." She then slid the compartment door opened, and the three Seventh Years inside looked up. "Hey guys. Sorry we're late."

"Isn't it the same every year ever since your younger brothers have started their first year?" Penelope Clearwater smiled, even as Percy and Joshua Lieben helped the two girls to heave their trunks onto the luggage compartments above their heads.

Joshua Lieben is a half-blood—borne to a wizard father and a witch mother, with his father having hailed from one of France's pureblood houses. There is even a rumour that he is descended from French royalty—during the time when France was ruled by a king. As such, he had rather exotic features—having silky dark hair that is so dark that it looks almost purple, with blue-purple eyes.

Much like how Hilda and Alexis have met Percy and Penelope, the two have met Joshua on the train on their first day to school, having rescued him from a group of girls that were trying to entice him into their compartment. The five have became firm friends after that, despite being in different houses—with Hilda, Alexis and Percy being sorted into Gryffindor, and Penelope and Joshua being sorted into Ravenclaw. Hilda, Percy, Penelope and Joshua have even been named Prefects of their individual houses during their fifth year, whereas Alexis was named dorm leader.

It was a change brought about upon the prefects' suggestions during a prefects' meeting held a few years ago when the head boy had commented that there are so many students in Hogwarts—all with their own problems, and the heads of houses as well as the prefects couldn't exactly help every student. Thus, the position of dorm leader is created—with their main job being to make sure that every student is in bed and in the tower after curfew, and to assist the students with their problems. The prefects helped in that aspect too, but if serious enough, they would bring it to the attention of the professors.

"How time flies." Percy commented, glancing out of the window at the scenery before looking towards his friends, a small smile on his face.

When he'd first started Hogwarts, he had never expected to have a group of friends that he could trust with his back. Hilda and Alexis have lived near him in Ottery St. Catchpole—and he had sometimes seen them doing their shopping in the nearby muggle village whenever it was his turn to do the shopping for his mother. But until he'd met them on the train to Hogwarts, he had never even spoken to them. For some reason, his mother had never liked either one of the girls or their families, thinking that they're too tomboyish or something along those lines.

He had ignored his mother's disapproval, continuing his friendship with Hilda, Alexis, Joshua and Penelope. His father and two older brothers on the other hand have actually supported Percy, saying that if he really wants to continue being friends with them, go on ahead. His friends have actually helped to ground him—making him see that there is more to life than rules and books. In that regard, his brothers have helped too.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Penelope agreed, a small sad smile on her face. "This is going to be our last train ride to Hogwarts—not counting the return trip after the Christmas holidays. It's our final year at school. Has it really been seven years?" she wondered. "It feels much shorter than that."

"Well, it's NEWTs year this year." Joshua sighed, stretching his arms out in front of him. "We're in for a tough year. I do believe that I did nothing but study these holidays. I did take the weekends off to relax though. Though seriously, I'll be glad once the NEWTs are over—and here I thought that our OWLs year is tough."

"A repeat of our OWLs year then, I guess." Alexis sighed. "I guess we would be using one of the study rooms then. Trying to use the common room to study for our NEWTs is an exercise in futility, with how rowdy our housemates are."

With how many complaints there are from the older students every year that trying to study in their common rooms or the library is almost impossible, the professors have used a few of the empty classrooms in the school as study rooms, leaving various reference books as material for their studies. It also serves as a chance to deepen the house ties, having students from various houses interacting with each other.

"Enough with the study talk." Percy said suddenly, and he then turned towards Hilda with a grin that is so reminiscent of the Weasley twins. "Charlie sent me a letter during the holidays. He's settling down well at the preserve, and he is hopeful that he can finish his apprenticeship in six months."

Hilda gave a soft smile at the mention of her boyfriend. "Yeah, he sent me a letter weekly ever since he'd gone to Romania," she said. "He's settling down well at the preserve. He did mention something about being burned on the arm by a frightened Welsh Green when he was ready to handle the dragons. He did say that his letters might cease in the coming months though—as he had been doing intensive handler training, and we have our NEWTs preparation to worry about."

"Yeah, he told me specifically not to let Mom know, or she'll be on another of her tirades to quit his job at the preserve." Percy sighed, remembering the loud arguments that his two oldest brothers have with their mother when she'd discovered their job aspirations. Honestly, he isn't all that surprised that his brothers have left the country for their jobs.

"So you still wrote to each other then?" Joshua asked with interest. "I was wondering how you both are going to maintain your relationship—Merlin knows that it is a task in itself to get you two together!"

His friends laughed.

Hilda had known Charlie Weasley mainly through Percy, as the two oldest Weasley brothers often made sure that Percy is all right and settling in fine when he was starting his first year. As Hilda had been friends with Percy, she had then gotten acquainted with the Weasley brothers. But that was all that their relationship is at that time—mere acquaintances. It wasn't until she'd started her second year before her friendship with Charlie Weasley developed when he'd become the Gryffindor Quidditch captain.

It had started when Hilda had taken to studying in the stands whenever the Gryffindor Quidditch team have their practice, being dragged there by Joshua and Alexis who were both Quidditch fanatics—but not so much that they would want to join the house team. A rouge Bludger that one of the Gryffindor Beaters had mis-hit had gone flying towards where Hilda had been, and if not for Hilda getting out of the way in time, she would likely have ended up in a coma.

That had been the start of their first meeting, and their friendship had only developed from there, as they tend to run into each other all over the school in between classes—despite Charlie being three years above her.

Their individual cliques of friends have often teased them about it, as everyone could see that Charlie had an obvious crush on Hilda. It wasn't until Charlie's seventh year when anything official happened however. He had asked her to be his girlfriend after he'd helped Gryffindor to clinch the Quidditch Cup for the sixth year in a row as his final role as the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain.

But given their job aspirations, both knew that they would have to be apart for awhile, as Charlie works in Romania, and who knows where Gringotts will send Hilda once she joined them after her graduation. Chief Ragnok, the head goblin had actually liked Hilda when Bill Weasley had pulled a few strings, arranging for a kind of summer internship for Hilda to train as a warder and as a curse breaker for the past three years. The curse breaker and warder that Hilda had trained under during the holidays were actually quite impressed with Hilda, as she had learned fast, and they have even said that if she kept up this progress once she joined Gringotts as an apprentice, she would probably be done with her apprenticeship in three months.

Hilda looked out of the window, resting her elbow on the windowsill, resting her cheek on her hand, ignoring her friends' teasing. She smiled slightly as she saw that the dark clouds have started letting up slightly, and a rainbow is visible.

Somewhere beneath the same skies, is Charlie watching the same sight that she is?

**XXXXXX**

Hilda wanted her final year at Hogwarts to go _very_ slowly. So did her other best friends.

While her years at Hogwarts had its ups and downs—seeing as she's raised by Sirius Black and Marlene Black nee McKinnon, she had some great times at school. It is where she met her closest friends and it is also where she'd met Charlie. She still remembered their several midnight escapades at school during Charlie's final two years at school.

But even though Hilda wanted her final year at Hogwarts to go extremely slowly, it seems like time itself had other ideas. As before she knew it, Christmas holidays had came and went—with there being a large Christmas dinner at the Black residence, with the Longbottom, Lupin, Tonks and even the Pettigrew families joining them for their yearly routine. The Diggory family that they've been close to as they lived so close to them have joined them too, as did Penelope when she'd dropped by on Christmas morning before leaving for her own family's Christmas dinner later that evening. Dora, Andromeda and Ted's daughter who is undergoing her Auror apprenticeship seems determined to make her cousins enjoy their Christmas due to all the studying that they've been doing.

The kids have even enjoyed a game of Quidditch minus the Bludgers and the Snitch out in the Black family's backyard—just letting loose. The parents have actually enjoyed watching their kids fly and just having fun.

Christian, Draco, Neville and Hermione were unusually well-behaved that year as well, save for the occasional harmless prank played on Filch the caretaker or even some of the other students that are mean to any of their friends. Apparently, the younger kids understood that this year isn't exactly a year to test their boundaries with their elder siblings, seeing how short tempered that they've been due to all the stress that they're under due to their NEWTs preparation.

Percy had to be the worst, as he had been awfully short tempered with just about everything and everyone lately save for his best friends. His youngest brother Ron actually got a detention from Percy for talking too loudly one night in the Gryffindor common room, much to Ron's annoyance.

Regular sessions with their individual professors depending on the electives that they've taken had also been scheduled due to the thesis papers that the seventh years have to write. Hilda's thesis papers in her Arithmancy and Ancient Runes classes have been giving her sleepless nights for months as because she wants to become a warder and curse breaker, she needs high, almost perfect scores for these two subjects in her NEWTs exams.

After the Christmas holidays however, it is back to studying for the seventh years, and an air of tension is almost visible in the air of Hogwarts, as the examination dates for the NEWTs is almost upon them. Nearly every single seventh year in Hogwarts could be seen with their nose in some book nearly every hour of the day. The common rooms and the study rooms could be seen with the lights on at all hours—the rules for curfew have been temporarily lifted only for the seventh years after the Christmas holidays as routine.

The house elves of Hogwarts were constantly stocking the common rooms and study rooms regularly with coffee, and Madam Pomfrey already had several stressed students coming to her for a headache reliever or even Pepper Up Potion due to sleeping at late hours because of all the studying done.

**XXXXXX**

It is probably close to five in the evening—just a few hours before dinnertime.

But like nearly every single seventh year lately, the group of them have chosen to forgo dinner in exchange for more study time. Thankfully, the headmaster and the professors were used to studious students going without food, and made sure that the house elves brought up food for the studying students. In fact, a few of the professors often popped by the study rooms to make sure that everything is fine—especially Professor Riddle and his wife, and even the individual heads of houses.

Percy Weasley furrowed his brow as he bit on the tip of his quill, having stared at the question in his book for the past ten minutes as if doing so can give him the answer. Finally, he gave up and nudged Hilda who is sitting beside him, with Joshua, Penelope and Alexis occupying the seats opposite them, a mountain of books in the middle of the table in the study room that they are occupying.

"…Hey Hilda?" Percy prompted, reaching for his already cold cup of coffee on the table. "Do you understand this?"

Hilda tore her eyes away from the Ancient Runes text that she is currently reading, with the long roll of parchment that is her Ancient Rune thesis in front of her. "Hmm?" She glanced at the Arithmancy reference book that Percy had checked out of the library just two days earlier for some studying. "Oh, this. Professor Vector covered this earlier in the year."

She then launched into a brief explanation whereas Percy listened intently, nodding every now and then whilst he took down notes. Arithmancy had always been one of the toughest subjects in Hogwarts, with Professor Vector having set extremely high standards for her subject. Hilda had always been really good in that subject, and hence, that had also helped her in her Ancient Runes class.

Joshua sighed, rubbing his eyes, and straightening his hair, as he had ran his fingers through his hair so many times out of frustration that his hair now looks as if he'd just rolled out of bed. "I'll never be ready for the NEWTs!" he cried. "Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests indeed! It is going to kill me before I could graduate!"

"Don't be so dramatic, Joshua!" Alexis said, but seeing Joshua so depressed, her face softened. As Joshua wants to be a warder as well like Hilda, he needs high grades in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. "I think all of us deserves a break."

"Yeah, we've been staring at our books since two in the afternoon. It's time for a break." Penelope sighed, rubbing at her red eyes. She then glanced at her friends. "Anyway, you guys have your career talks already?" She enquired.

"Yeah, we had ours with McGonagall last week." Alexis said, exchanging looks with Hilda and Percy. "I guess it's just to reconfirm what we wanted to do with our lives. I want to take a bit of a break after graduation before joining the Auror Academy."

Penelope sighed. "I'm not as ambitious as you lot. I'm not aiming for the Ministry—" She looked at her boyfriend, and Percy smiled sheepishly, "and I'm not becoming a curse breaker or even a warder—" She looked at Hilda and Joshua this time, "so I don't really need such high marks for every single one of my exams. But I still need high marks for my Charms and Potions exams as I want to be a Healer." She groaned, resisting the urge to rest her head on her mountain of books, knowing that she'll go to sleep if she does—considering the fact that she had barely slept at all last night. "I'm still considering whether to take up an apprenticeship at either St. Mungo's or at a private practice."

"Well, Aunt Andy and Aunt Cissy would love to take you on as an apprentice at their practice if you want to." Hilda shrugged. "They were talking to you about it this Christmas when you came to visit, didn't they?"

Career talks have consisted of a large part of their evening during Christmas dinner. Cedric Diggory who had been a year below Hilda wanted to be an Auror like Alexis, and hence, had been listening to Dora's stories about what Auror training is like, and even listening to Sirius' stories about his chases after dark wizards. He did look a little uneasy when he'd seen how stressed and tired that the current seventh years look however—with all the preparation for their NEWTs.

Percy who had been pretty silent throughout their conversation spoke up silently. "Say Hilda?" Hilda made a non-committal noise in her throat to show that she's listening. "I've been wondering for some time now. Why do you want to be a warder and a curse breaker anyway? Not to be sexist or anything—but I don't see many witches following that route. It's after all one of the most physically demanding jobs. My brother Bill talked about it all the time when he'd just finished his apprenticeship at Egypt."

There was silence for a long time before Hilda closed the thick tome that she had opened in front of her and got to her feet.

"…Hilda?" Alexis voiced out, wondering if they'd said something to upset Hilda. She of course knew why Hilda wanted to be a curse breaker—it had something to do with how her parents have died.

"…You guys fancy a walk by the Black Lake?" Hilda said at last, looking at her friends. "I think it's high time I told you why I wanted to be a curse breaker since our first year at Hogwarts."

* * *

><p>The sun was nearly setting when the five of them have gathered by the side of the Black Lake, watching as Hilda took off her shoes and socks and waded into the waters of the lake, only wading as deep as her ankles.<p>

Lots of Hogwarts students often relaxed at the Black Lake whenever they do not have lessons when the weather is still warm enough. They've often done that throughout their seven years at school themselves. Hell, it is a favourite hang out spot for Hilda and Charlie when the latter was still in school.

"Hilda?" Alexis voiced out.

"It's because of my parents." Hilda said suddenly, her back facing them as she stared at the setting sun, shielding her eyes from the sun's glare. "I was really young when they passed away, so I don't really remember them much. But I do remember how they'd died."

Percy frowned. The Potters are an old and ancient house, akin in status to the Blacks, and when Lord and Lady Potter have passed away, it was all over the _Daily Prophet._ It was even stated in the papers that their then three-year-old daughter was adopted by her godfather.

"You know, I think I remember hearing something like that from my father when I'd mentioned that I was friends with you during our first year." Joshua said slowly. "He said something about an accident that had claimed their lives?"

Hilda turned around to face her friends, nodding her head. "…It was our first trip as a family overseas," she admitted. "On a muggle airplane, and not by portkey, as I was too young then to use magical devices to travel. We went to Egypt. According to Sirius, my mom had always been fascinated with the Egyptians and their history, and she had always wanted to visit the country at least once. I can't really remember much of what happened, and when I was older, Sirius and Aunt Marlene then told me what they knew. The ancient Egyptian wizards often use several really nasty wards and curses to protect their treasures—especially the Pharaohs. Hence why curse breakers are so revered in Egypt whenever a new dig got discovered. It is mainly the reason why Bill got certified as a curse breaker so quickly, having finished his training in Egypt." Percy nodded solemnly in agreement. "Sirius told me that my parents somehow stumbled upon a trap that unleashed an ancient curse when they were visiting a newly discovered pyramid—probably a curse that had escaped detection by the curse breakers when the diggers have uncovered the pyramid. No one was around, and they died without anyone managing to get help for them—the ancient Egyptians' curses are just that powerful and potent."

Her friends' eyes widened. Hilda's voice was monotone—almost like she's giving them a report instead of telling them the story behind her parents' deaths. The truth is that the deaths of Lord and Lady Potter have always been shrouded in mystery. Sirius, Remus and their friends have gone to great lengths to make sure that the circumstances behind their friends' deaths were never revealed to the public to protect Hilda.

"I was barely three at that time, so I didn't know any better." Hilda smiled a small sad smile. "I remember staying with my parents' bodies for hours in the pyramid before a search party was sent out early the next morning when we didn't return to our hotel. Sirius took me in after my parents died. He and Aunt Marlene were expecting Chris then, but they still willingly took me in and raised me as their own." She quickly blinked away the tears that were forming. "That's why…I wanted to be a warder and a curse breaker, no matter how difficult it is going to be. I don't want anyone else dying to an ancient curse the way my parents did."

"So that's why…" Percy mumbled.

He knew from Joshua and Alexis that Professor McGonagall had tried to deter Hilda from becoming a warder and curse breaker during the career talks during fifth year, but Hilda had been stubborn. In fact, it is all that Hilda would talk about since first year, and she even had books about curse breaking and warding. Hence why she is so good at Charms, Arithmancy and even Ancient Runes.

Hilda nodded. "That's right," she said. "Charlie and I have talked about it before he'd graduated when he was accepted by the Romania dragon preserve. We knew that we would be apart for awhile due to our career aspirations, but it is what we want to do with our lives—we can live with it."

"Hilda…" Alexis mumbled sadly.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Hmm… Can I say the first chapter is damn hard to write, and why is it so damn awkward? Anyway, as stated above, this story is extreme AU, and the main body of the story will be focused on life after Hogwarts—in other words, adult life. So expect some 'adult themes' in later chapters. Anyway, I hope that you've enjoyed this chapter and story as the start of a new year begun, and please read and review! Reviews give me inspiration to update!_


	2. Last Hogsmeade

**Pairings:** Charlie/Hilda. Percy/Penelope. Possible Joshua/Alexis.

**Warnings:** Extreme AU. Nicer Percy. Quiet and nicer Draco. Slight Molly and Ron bashing. Hilda is three years older than canon. OCs.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter and any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Two: Last Hogsmeade<strong>

The head of the Romanian dragon preserve blinked in confusion, cutting himself off mid-conversation in a meeting that he had with the head dragon handler when one of his newer recruits _(not so new anymore however, seeing as the redhead had been with them for nearly three years, and had just finished his apprenticeship six months ago)—_Charlie Weasley burst into his office like a Hungarian Horntail is hot on his heels.

"What is it, Weasley?" Lucus Weaver, the head dragon handler asked, alarmed, wondering if one of their dragonlings had gotten out of their nest _again._ Young dragons are normally quite mischievous and playful, and are always curious about anything that moves—always getting into situations beyond themselves. It is one of the reasons why the dragon mothers and the dragon handlers normally kept a close eye on the young dragons before they entered adulthood.

"N-Nothing sir!" Charlie Weasley gasped as if he'd just run a marathon. He then met Cadmus Ellias' eyes. "I'm finished with my patrol and the checks on the nests of the Welsh Green dragons, sir. May I be excused?"

Cadmus smiled to himself in amusement, obviously recalling when Charlie Weasley had came rushing into his office a week ago, asking for some time off. As the redhead hadn't taken a single day off ever since the day when he'd started at the dragon preserve, and not to mention that he'd been a bright and talented handler, with most of the dragons loving him, Cadmus is hard pressed not to grant him his request.

"Go then." Cadmus replied, looking at him over the document that he had in his hands. "And do bring something back for us from England."

Charlie bowed politely to the two men in the office before hurriedly excusing himself—obviously to head back to his apartment in the building complex where all the dragon handlers live in to shower and pack before heading to the international floo airport.

"Where's he rushing off to in such a hurry?" Lucus asked in mild confusion after the door slammed shut behind Charlie, turning to face Cadmus.

"To England," was Cadmus' prompt reply, his eyes going back to the document in his hands. "That girl of his is graduating soon, and as Weasley hadn't been able to see her since he'd first joined us at the preserve, he wants to at least spend one weekend with her before she graduates and join the workforce."

"Ah. I see." Lucus smiled to himself, nodding in understanding. "Never knew that Weasley had a romantic side to him." He commented off-handedly, and Cadmus snickered.

Some of the dragon handlers at the Romanian preserve do ask for time off for as much the same reason that Charlie Weasley did. An idea then crept into Lucus's head as he thought of an idea to reward one of his best dragon handlers.

"Say Cadmus? Why don't we invite that girl of his to the preserve for a while after her graduation? She is a Hogwarts' student, right? Or we can even ask Weasley to extend an invitation to her…?"

* * *

><p>Clothes, potions, bathroom essentials, and whatever that Charlie Weasley thinks that he will need for just a short five day stay at England were tossed haphazardly into his bag as he zoomed about his small one-room apartment in the apartment complex located at the edge of the dragon preserve where all the dragon handlers lived in.<p>

It has both pros and cons for living so near the dragon preserve.

It is good in a way—as it actually adds more security to deter thieves from sneaking in and stealing dragon eggs or even the dragons themselves when the dragon handlers lived in the dragon preserve themselves. The dragon handlers don't just handle, care for and train the dragons on a day-to-day basis. No, all of them took turns performing patrols around the preserve and even on the borders of the preserve territory—day or night, regardless of the weather.

Dragons are the one type of magical creatures that couldn't exactly be hidden away from muggles' prying eyes after all. Hence, when the dragon preserves in various nations were founded and built, several repelling charms and even charms and wards were build around the preserves to deter muggles from stumbling upon the preserve and their dragons. Any muggle that ventures near any dragon preserve in a ten mile radius will suddenly remember an emergency, and rush away immediately—similar to how muggle repelling charms work on important magical buildings like the Quidditch stadium and even the building of the Ministry of Magic.

The cons however is that the sleep of the dragon handlers are often riddled with the loud roars of dragons. When Charlie had first arrived at the preserve, he often found himself woken up by a sudden loud snort or roar from a dragon that had a particularly bad dream. He had to cast silencing charms around his apartment in order to get a good night's sleep the first couple of months. But after several months, Charlie soon got used to the dragons' cries—with it acting like a kind of lullaby for him. In fact, he _couldn't_ sleep properly if there aren't dragons' cries in the background.

"My passport…" Charlie murmured, stripping out of his shirt and pants and even his dragon handler robes, pulling on a black tee and pants, also throwing on a black leather jacket with dragon hide boots. "And my wand too."

He cast a quick look around his apartment to make sure that he hadn't forgotten anything, ignoring the mess, picking up his bag and locking the door of his apartment behind him. He had received a letter from his younger brother Percy just a week ago, asking if it is possible for him to come and spend at least one weekend in Hogsmeade with Hilda, with his brother informing Charlie that this will likely be the last Hogsmeade weekend for the seventh years as well, as the NEWTs and OWLs examinations begin in two weeks.

So, before Hilda, Percy, Alexis, Penelope and Joshua graduates with the rest of their peers, Charlie and Hilda might as well recreate some part of their school life when Charlie had still been a student and trying to tell Hilda that he loves her without the words actually leaving his lips. _(Charlie actually didn't know how to react when he read those blunt words in Percy's letter)._

Charlie was slightly touched by Percy's gesture, and guilty that he hadn't thought of it himself. Hilda had been extremely understanding and accommodating towards Charlie ever since he'd begun his training at the dragon preserve—understanding that letters between them both might cease for a while due to the final phase in Charlie's training taking up much of his time, and she also had NEWTs to worry about.

Charlie had been through it himself as a student—preparation for his NEWTs had cost him several sleepless nights that he'd actually ended up falling asleep in quite a few lessons, and even meetings with his professors for his thesis. More than once, he had woken up in either the hospital wing or even his dormitory, wondering how he'd gotten there.

But at the very least, Charlie wants to spend some time with his girlfriend whom he hadn't seen in nearly three years. Letters and such just aren't the same as seeing her in the flesh. He only hoped that he wouldn't end up running into his youngest brother in Hogsmeade when he is there with Hilda.

He doesn't want his mother or his two youngest siblings to learn of his relationship with Hilda just yet until he is ready to propose to her at least.

**XXXXXX**

The notice for the last Hogsmeade weekend was placed in all common rooms, and even in the Great Hall, also reminding the seventh years especially that this will really be their _last_ Hogsmeade weekend before their NEWTs examinations begin in two weeks. Oh sure, they could still visit Hogsmeade even after they've graduated and are fully fledged adults, but it just wouldn't be the same.

There is that kind of special feeling that one gets when they visit the village of Hogsmeade as a student. Just chilling out their friends in the Three Broomsticks over mugs of Butterbeer after a tough two weeks filled with nothing but assignments and the demands of their professors. Or even sneaking about in Madam Puddifoots with their respective others. Giggling about the latest fashion trend and makeup. Exchanging the latest gossip. Checking out the latest joke products in Zonko's, and wondering who the Weasley twins would be testing those joke products on.

"So, the last Hogsmeade weekend." Penelope said almost sadly as the five of them squeezed themselves through the crowd of students crowding around the notice in the Great Hall, heading towards the Gryffindor table—the seventh years normally had their meals early before the rest of the school does in order to get a start on their studying. "Where has all that time gone to?" She mused even as she pulled out her planner to study her schedule. "NEWTs is in two weeks. Are we even ready?"

"I know I'm not." Joshua moaned. "And I think all the studying is frying my brain. I kept seeing numbers and spell incantations in my sleep!" He complained, much to the amusement of his friends.

Alexis laughed weakly. "Yeah, all of us. I doubt that any of us had a decent night's sleep for weeks now. Pam woke up the entire dorm last night with her sleep talking—Cassie was freaking out when she woke me up last night, thinking that Pam is under some sort of spell." Alexis rolled her eyes at the mere memory of it when Cassie had woken her up late last night, frightened.

Pam's sleep talking had the rest of the girls in her dorm room freaked out—thinking that Pam had been possessed or something as she is muttering something that none of them understood. It is only later when Alexis realised that she is muttering the names of the several rune symbols covered in Ancient Runes' class. Alexis ended up having to cast several silencing spells around Pam's bed and told the rest of the girls in her dorm rather grumpily to go back to bed, and the next time that one of them wakes her up from her precious sleep had better be for a life-and-death reason.

"It is going to be our _final_ Hogsmeade weekend as well." Percy murmured. "We're graduating in less than two months. This is going to be our last trip into Hogsmeade as Hogwarts' students." He glanced at his friends. "Should we go? It will do us good to take our minds off our studying for a while. We've been working pretty hard as it is." He rubbed at his temples, missing Penelope's concerned look. "Even the twins have noticed, and seemed to be trying their utmost to drive me up the wall with their pranks in the Gryffindor common room." Percy huffed, and his friends laughed.

Fred and George have good intentions—to help their brother to ease his stress levels, but unfortunately, their methods are prone to driving Percy and the rest of them to distraction.

"Well… I guess a break sounds good." Hilda mused. "I need to get some stuff at Hogsmeade anyway. I'm running out of parchment and quills." She glanced at her friends. "We might as well make some good memories during our time as a student in Hogwarts' halls."

Her friends agreed, and Percy then smiled secretly to himself. "Well, you might have a bit of a surprise on Hogsmeade weekend though," he said mysteriously, much to Hilda's confusion. "You'll see." Percy chuckled with amusement, enjoying the look on Hilda's face. "You'll enjoy it, I think."

**XXXXXX**

Charlie Weasley was nervous, even as he waited at the entrance of Hogsmeade for his girlfriend whom he hadn't seen for nearly three years, dressed in a thick cloak for the weather, ignoring the curious glances from the janitor sweeping the snow piled up at the entrance of the village.

Several Hogwarts students have already filed past Charlie, chattering about what they would do in the village. Thankfully, none of them have recognised him, particularly the fifth, sixth and seventh years who would have already been in Hogwarts when he was still in school. He had been pretty famous in Hogwarts as a student, being one of the best Seekers in Hogwarts' history, and being the Gryffindor Quidditch captain furthermore.

"Will you tell me what is going on already?" came an annoyed voice just then that Charlie perked up at, and he scanned his eyes eagerly over the throes of approaching Hogwarts students. And there, in the midst of the crowd was his younger brother and his group of best friends. Charlie's eyes went immediately towards his girlfriend.

Hilda seems to be thinner than he last remembered, and paler too. Charlie frowned to himself—had she been skipping meals and sleep again? He remembered when Hilda had her OWLs—and Percy had mentioned that if not for Alexis and Joshua making her, she likely would have given up her sleep time in order to study more.

Alexis was the first one to spot Charlie, and her eyes widened when she saw the redhead. She grinned before nudging her best friend in the side. "Hilda. Look over there." She jerked her chin towards Charlie's direction, and Hilda's eyes went as wide as saucers when she saw her boyfriend.

"Charlie?" Hilda almost whispered, even as the group of five approached the redhead. She stared at Charlie as if she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Is this what you're talking about?" Penelope asked Percy, smiling.

Hell, all of them could see that Hilda had missed Charlie dearly throughout the past three years, and she had rarely given her real smiles—the smiles that she had only shown to Charlie. Probably, that had been part of the reason why Chris, Neville and Draco have acted up so much—pulling one prank or the other just to make their sister or cousin take notice and smile at them, or even laugh.

Joshua smiled as he saw the two looking into each other's eyes. "Good call there, Perce," he murmured, ignoring Percy's indignant squawks of "my name is _Percy!",_ and smiled. "Come on, let's go. We shouldn't interrupt them. Three Broomsticks?"

"Yeah." Alexis nodded before the four of them walked past the couple and into the village itself, but not before Alexis patted her best friend on the shoulder. "We'll leave you to it. We'll meet up at the village entrance at nine."

"Yeah. Thank Percy for me." Hilda told her best friend who smiled and nodded. She then smiled at Charlie. "I didn't think that I'd get to see you until after graduation—you promised to be there at least."

Charlie grinned before the two entwined their hands together, walking hand-in-hand into the village of Hogsmeade. "Well, I finished my apprenticeship earlier than I expected—apparently, the dragons liked me an awful lot. I'm a certified dragon handler now," he said almost proudly. The redhead then led the way towards Madam Puddifoots—the one place where he knew Ron would never be caught—he doesn't need rumours of his escapades with Hilda to reach his mother's ears. He might as well never go home after that.

A chime echoed somewhere in the notoriously pink and red establishment as the teenage couple _(or rather, one teenager and one adult)_ entered. Most of the tables and chairs were already occupied with couples all lost in their own world—staring dreamily into their respective others' eyes. A smiling Madam Puddifoots was standing near the entrance, giving them a warm welcome.

"This way please," she said pleasantly, having recognised the two, as they've often came to her establishment during the Hogsmeade weekends during Charlie's final year at school, and knew of their attempts to keep their relationship secret from Charlie's overbearing mother. "I trust that you both will want a corner booth?" she asked knowingly.

"Yes please, Madam Puddifoots." Charlie grinned before Madam Puddifoots smiled and led the two to a booth tucked securely in a corner. "I'll get both your usual out in a minute."

"Remind me to get Percy a good present for his birthday." Hilda said, laughing, smiling at Charlie. "I wouldn't be able to thank him enough for this." Charlie grinned, and Hilda then reached forward and fingered the ends of his red hair. When Charlie was still in school, he had kept his hair short, but now, he had grown his hair out slightly, keeping it in a slightly shaggy style. "Your hair's longer now," she commented. "I like it."

Charlie laughed. "Yeah. I thought that I want to grow it out now that I'm not in school," he said. He then looked at Hilda with wistful eyes. "I missed you," he whispered. "Letters just aren't the same as seeing you in the flesh. You've grown thinner. NEWTs preparation keeping you busy?" He asked with concern.

"Something like that." Hilda admitted. "Head Girl duties are keeping me up as well. Percy did try to help, but he is taking as many subjects as I do. I'll be glad once the NEWTs are over." She sighed. Both of them fell silent as a waitress approached their table, placing beautiful pink drinks with 'love straws' in front of them both, with various plates of 'love deserts'. "How's life at the preserve? You seem to be enjoying work."

"Yeah. I'm enjoying every day." Charlie grinned, remembering his work with the dragons, and how thrilled he had been when he had been moved from cleaning duty to handler duty a year ago when his mentor had determined that he is ready to take on a few dragons to care for. "The work's challenging, but meaningful. I love it. I don't regret it."

Hilda smiled. "Yeah, I can tell from your face," she said. "Bill wrote to me a month ago. He said that the goblins at the Gringotts branch in Egypt would be willing to give me and Joshua training places there. We can finish our training faster that way—seeing as how I've already completed much of the bulk of curse breaking and warding training during the summer internships. Joshua will have to do his warding training during their intensive course at Cairo though. With any luck, we should be able to be certified in just a few months. I was thinking of actually taking a week or so of break before I officially join the workforce." Hilda added.

Charlie smiled. "I would like to have you visit Romania though," he said wistfully. "I will have to ask my boss if it's allowed. And also…" He reached into his pocket before drawing out a black box, opening it to reveal a black choker with a pale blue teardrop crystal hanging from it. "I had Bill custom made this for me in Egypt—the crafters and blacksmiths there are the best when it comes to protective amulets and charms." He explained. "I thought that this might help you once you become a curse breaker—it has protective charms on it—designed to protect the wearer from harmful hexes and curses. It'll give me some peace of mind too." Charlie smiled as he put it around Hilda's slender neck. "Think of this as a belated Christmas present. And sorry for not writing for the past few months."

Hilda shook her head, fingering the crystal around her neck. "I understand," she said. "I'm just happy that you're with me now."

She smiled at Charlie's blush—so she still had that effect on him. She remembered when they went on their first not-so-official date to Hogsmeade during her fourth year. Charlie could barely look at her in the face. Then Charlie's graduation ball when he had asked her to be his date. She had felt out of place there, being the only fourth year when all the others are seventh years, but she had ignored it, and had felt as pleased as Punch when Charlie had turned into a stuttering mess when he had seen her all dressed up—Alexis and Penelope have both helped her with her hair and dress.

"Besides," Hilda took Charlie's large hands with her own delicate and small hands, and he looked at her in surprise, "We both know that we're going to be apart for awhile when we've decided on our careers. I have no idea where Gringotts is going to send me after I become a fully fledged curse breaker, but chances are that I'll mainly be stationed in Egypt with Bill, since that is where they require the most curse breakers—even if I'm aiming to go international."

"Yeah." Charlie gave a small smile.

That is one reason why he loves Hilda, and one of the reasons why his mother didn't like Hilda and Alexis. Molly Weasley is of the opinion that witches should just stay home and look after the house and children whilst the husband brings home the money—it is how things work during her time when she is a girl. But times are changing, and more witches are embarking on their own careers rather than be a stay-at-home mom. These days, it isn't uncommon to see both parents working, with their children being left at a wizarding day-care to play with other children until one of their parents picked them up after work.

It is part of who Hilda is—having her sights set as a curse breaker. And from what Bill had told Charlie of what he had heard from the goblins, Hilda seemed to have some talent in curse breaking and warding. He had been a little worried when he had learned that Hilda wanted to be a curse breaker _and_ warder however. Just the curse breaking job alone is tough as it is—add in warding, and you'll have your hands full, especially since there aren't many curse breakers or even warders working for Gringotts. And not to mention that the job is extremely physically demanding.

His brother Bill had never really been unfit, but when he had returned to England after a year as a curse breaker in Egypt, he had a healthy tan and looks more muscular and fit than he had ever looked in his life—even having an entire new wardrobe that make him look as if he'd just walked off the front page of a rock and roll magazine. Their mother however nearly had a heart attack when she'd first seen her oldest after a year of not seeing him, especially with him growing his hair out.

Charlie however knew how stubborn Hilda could be, and he also knew her reasons of wanting to be a curse breaker. And if he knows her like he thought he does, Hilda will likely be one of Gringotts' best curse breakers in just a few years.

Hmm…

Bill might be thrilled to have some competition in the curse breaking business.

**XXXXXX**

"So how's your date?" Alexis asked Hilda, grinning, even as the petite dark haired girl met her and Joshua at the entrance of Hogsmeade. Curfew for the Hogwarts' students during Hogsmeade weekends is at midnight. But for the seventh years that day, they wanted to get an early rest to get a head start on their studying the next day.

Hilda smiled—and both Joshua and Alexis were relieved to see that she seemed to have cheered up some. "Great!" she said cheerfully. "We talked loads. Charlie told me several things that he had apparently omitted in his letters. Where are Percy and Penny, by the way?" She asked, even as the trio took the long trek back to Hogwarts. It is early enough that the trio are one of the few that are already returning to the school, whilst the rest of the students that are old enough to visit Hogsmeade are probably at the Three Broomsticks or something.

"Don't know." Joshua shrugged. "We went our separate ways when we entered the village. Don't want to be intruding on their 'private time', you know? They barely had any all year—what with everything going on for us this year—with our NEWTs, and our Prefect duties—though Head Girl and Head Boy duties for you and old Perce."

"They said that they'd be back by midnight though." Alexis added even as the sights of the castle came into view. The rest of the walk was spent in silence as they approached the large doors of the castle and entered.

A hurried looking Gryffindor seventh year who had emerged from the Great Hall looked highly relieved when he saw Hilda and rushed over to her. "Hilda, am I glad to see you!" Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Quidditch captain after Charlie gasped for breath before pointing towards the doors of the Great Hall. "You might want to get in there now. Weasley Number Six had attacked your cousin."

Hilda almost groaned. "What now?" she complained, walking towards the Great Hall with her friends following behind—all with resigned looks on their faces as they knew what is going to happen in a few moments—it had happened so often throughout the past three years that they could almost predict what is going to happen. Professor Trelawney would be highly impressed with their skills of Divination had she known of their individual thought processes.

The moment that the four Seventh Years stepped into the Great Hall, it is to see Christian Black and Ronald Weasley each being held back by at least two of their friends. Chris was being restrained by Neville whilst Hermione was kneeling on the ground beside Draco who was covering his left eye for some reason. Ron meanwhile was being restrained by Dean Thomas who had a scowl on his face as he glared at the redhead.

As Head Girl, Hilda knew that the professors currently have a meeting with the headmaster going on right now because of the NEWTs that would be taking place in two weeks, and hence, no professor would be stepping in as they're all tied up in the meeting. Besides, Hogwarts always had the policy to let their students settle their own problems themselves—only stepping in when it gets too far. That is one of the reasons why the Head Boy and Girl and the Prefects always have so much to do, and why the Headmaster and Heads of Houses have agreed to create the position of Dorm Leader several years ago.

"You have _no_ right!" Chris was nearly red in the face with anger—and if not for Neville who is restraining him, he would likely have whipped his wand out to hex Ron with the several hexes and spells that his parents have taught him during the holidays ever since early childhood by now.

He had often sat in on the tutoring sessions that his parents have given his sister, and when he is old enough, he had joined in the lessons as well. That is one part of family bonding that Chris had enjoyed—as Hilda had been really distant with them as a child. Their relationship with Hilda had improved only after Chris's third birthday when he had loudly proclaimed to Hilda that she 'is the best big sister in the world' and that he loves her loads.

"You're nothing but a bloody coward, Weasley!" Neville snarled, fury written all over his face even as he struggled to restrain his best friend. "You always attack Draco or even us from behind!"

Ronald Weasley scowled at them. "He's nothing but a dark lord in the making!" he accused, only making Neville increase his attempts at restraining Chris, as the latter got really furious at hearing his cousin get insulted like this. "And his mother's no better—first sleeping with some dark wizard, then running off with a dirty werewolf!"

Draco stood shakily to his feet, with Hermione supporting him by lending her shoulder, and it is only now when everyone in the Great Hall could see that he is bleeding from his left eye, with his hand covering it—staining his blonde locks red with blood. "Take that back!" he shouted. "Dad is a good man! So what if he is a werewolf? And don't you dare to insult my mother! She is a hundred times better than _your_ mother who do nothing but belittle and insult my cousins and my sister!"

"You—"

"All right! That's enough!" Hilda finally had enough, summoning her wand from the wrist holster on her left wrist non-verbally, and casting a silent weak wind spell that separated the fighting third years from each other.

The surrounding students parted like the Red Sea when Hilda walked towards the once arguing third years—all of them recognising their Head Girl, and knowing that she's _pissed._ Nearly all the seventh years in the castle have been in pretty bad moods for weeks now due to the tremendous stress that they're under—the lower years in particular are practically treading on eggshells around Percy Weasley due to his short temper of late.

The anger on Chris's face faded away when he recognised his elder sister. "…Sis."

Hilda took in several deep breaths to calm herself down before she turned towards a very nervous Cedric Diggory who seemed to be one of the few who have chosen to come back early—probably to prepare for his OWLs that would be taking place the same time as the NEWTs.

"Cedric, explain." Hilda ordered, and Cedric nodded nervously.

"Uh… Yes, Ma'am." Cedric gulped nervously, recognising the look on his childhood friend's face as the look that she always had before she blew. "Weasley over there was bullying Chris, Neville and Draco as always, but they've been ignoring him. Until he chose to attack Draco from behind with a hex that got him on the eye. He then brought in Draco's mother and father into the conversation."

Hilda turned a glare onto Ron who cringed under the fearsome glare. "Any wands drawn?" she asked coolly, and Cedric shook his head.

"The only one who'd fired a spell in the Great Hall is just Weasley, and uh…you." Cedric said meekly.

Hilda nodded grimly, glaring at Ron with a look that told the redhead that he is in _very serious trouble_ this time around. "…Joshua, please escort Mr Weasley to Professor McGonagall's office and wait for her. Cedric, go with him. Tell her everything that has happened, and that I'll be there soon after I bring Draco to the hospital wing," she ordered. Both Joshua and Cedric nodded before both boys placed a hand each on Ron's shoulders to prevent his escape. "Draco, look at me." Hilda ordered, bending down to her cousin's eye level, and making him remove his hand—only to let out an angry hiss to see the angry red welts already forming there with the blood, and the loud gasps from the surrounding students. "I'm taking you to the hospital wing. Chris, Neville, both of you can come too. You as well, Hermione." She added. "Alexis, take charge here." She told her best friend who nodded grimly. "Also, tell Percy what had happened here. I'm sure that he would _love_ to take charge of Ronald's punishment." Alexis had an evil grin on her face as Ron paled—knowing that with the mood that Percy had been in lately, he would deal rather harsh punishments, as he isn't pleased that Ron had been attacking his best friend's younger brother and cousins for three years now. "Come on." Hilda told the younger students, herding them towards the hospital wing.

* * *

><p>"Hold that to his eye, Miss Potter." Madam Pomfrey, the matron of the hospital wing told Hilda, even as she passed an ice pack to Hilda. "And give me a moment—I'll get the potions needed. I'm afraid that you're going to have to spend the night here, Mr Lupin-Black." She added, turning towards Draco who is currently sitting on one of the beds, with Hilda holding the ice pack to his injured eye. Chris, Neville and Hermione were all occupying the visitor chairs around the bed.<p>

The matron then disappeared into the back—presumably to prepare the potions needed to treat Draco.

"I'm sorry, Sis." Chris mumbled. "I lost my temper."

"You didn't attack Ronald, did you? Or even pelt him with spells?" Hilda asked, turning towards her brother. "That's a vast improvement as compared to first year. Honestly, what were the three of you thinking—challenging Ronald to a midnight duel?" She snorted, recalling when she'd caught the three then first years out of bed when she was on her patrol. The three first years ended up serving detention with Professor Riddle for two weeks for being out of bed after hours. Not that Ronald had gotten away as well—the redhead ended up serving detention with Professor McGonagall after Percy and Hilda have gotten the story from Chris, and the older Weasley had then gone to get his brother.

Chris and Neville blushed at the memory whilst Hermione giggled. She hadn't been friends with the trio then, but she had heard a little of what had happened, as Draco had told her why they have gotten detention.

"…Why is he so mean though?" Draco asked meekly, and Hilda removed the ice pack to examine the swelling around Draco's eye only to place the ice pack back to his eye. "I never did anything to him. I mean, he's probably right about my biological father—Aunt Andy and Mum told me about him, and what he'd done to Mum when I was a baby. But I don't even remember him. Just because I share blood with him doesn't mean that I'll turn out like him, right?" He looked at Hilda desperately with his one eye. "Remus is my dad now. He raised me and taught me how to read and count, and even how to have fun before I was even old enough to attend Hogwarts. He introduced me to Chris, Neville, Dora, Alexis and even you and Cedric. I remember his wedding with Mum—and that he'd asked me about two months before the wedding if I would mind if he marries Mum. I was so thrilled to have him as my father in name too that I asked if I could take the blood adoption potion—so that I'm a Lupin in blood as well. So why? Why is Weasley so mean?"

Chris and Neville exchanged uncomfortable looks with Hilda whilst Hermione only looked upset and slightly confused. Chris, Neville and Hilda have grown up together with Draco, Dora, Alexis and even Cedric, and thus, all of them have known Draco's story—particularly the older teens who were old enough to understand when Narcissa had filed for divorce and abuse charges against Lucius Malfoy. Draco had loved Remus as a father, and he was thrilled to bits when Remus and Narcissa have married—as he could finally have Remus as his father in name as well. Even still, the Malfoy scandal was known throughout Britain, and when Draco had started at Hogwarts, he had received lots of cruel comments from the more biased students. Hilda and Percy have quickly put a stop to it, along with Joshua and Alexis.

"I've told you four before, didn't I?" Hilda said at last, looking from face to face. "Our world isn't exactly perfect. Grindewald's reign of terror—no matter how short, had caused lots of terror and fear and even hatred—also sowing seeds of discord towards those different in blood statuses. Even years after the war, there are still families and people that believed in the nonsense that he had spewed."

Gellert Grindewald had been one of the most notorious Dark Lords in Britain's history, having come to power around the time when Headmaster Dumbledore was a young man. He had tried to take over the world, believing the wizards and witches to be superior to the non-magical folk, and wanted to rule over them—tired of having to hide the existence of magic. Unfortunately, there were several that had actually agreed with his views, and a war had broken out—a war that had lasted for more than twenty years.

Grindewald had been Headmaster Dumbledore's close friend, and even as powerful as the man is, Dumbledore is still hesitant to raise his hand against his once close friend. Until his adopted son, Tom Riddle whom he had adopted after retrieving him from the orphanage approached him, announcing his desire to defeat Grindewald when the Dark Lord had burned down the orphanage that had been his home for eleven years—killing all the children and the matron. Dumbledore had trained Tom after that, but had made sure to teach him that revenge isn't the answer.

Tom had been nearly nineteen when he had faced Grindewald in a duel and had barely managed to defeat him, sending the older man fleeing with the remainder of his forces. A muggleborn witch, Myrtle Thomson had been the medic that had tended to Tom's injuries at that time—a Ravenclaw schoolmate of his, and they have fallen in love, and had gotten married not long after that with Headmaster Dumbledore's blessings. Grindewald hadn't been heard of again after that, though there are several who believed that he is bidding his time, plotting his revenge against Dumbledore and Tom.

That had been one of the reasons why Professor Tom Riddle had been so popular in Hogwarts—because he is the man who had defeated the Dark Lord. Cornelius Fudge had been Tom's good friend when they were still in school—and had seen the burdens that Tom was ladled with when he had decided to take out Grindewald. When he had became Minister, he had swore to Tom that he would clean up Britain and the Ministry so that no one would repeat the mistakes of the past.

"But I'm not Lucius Malfoy!" Draco cried out in frustration, and the other four in the hospital wing were taken aback when Draco wrapped his arms around Hilda's mid-section, hugging her and crying salty tears into her robes. "I'm not him! I'm Draco Lupin-Black! I am the son of Narcissa and Remus Lupin! I am my own person!"

"Yes, we know." Hilda said gently, stroking Draco's hair with the way that she always did to calm him down whenever she had babysat him as a child. "We know that. And in time, everyone will as well, Draco. This world isn't perfect. As long as people live and co-exist with each other, with different beliefs, conflicts will happen. But as long as you believe in yourself and do what you feel is right, in time, they will understand that. Times are changing. Probably, there will come a day when blood status will mean nothing anymore." Hilda smiled at her brother over Draco's head who grinned back at her cheekily. "Maybe… By the time that you imps are ready to leave school and make your way in the world, it will be a world like that."

"Yeah. I would like that." Draco mumbled into Hilda's robes. "Thanks, Sis. For always being there for me." He leaned into Hilda's touch—knowing that she is the one person whom he would always feel safe with.

"You're family, kiddo. Just like how Chris is my brat of a brother, and Alexis is almost like my sister." Hilda said, ruffling Draco's hair, and Neville snickered at Chris's pout whilst Hermione giggled, staring wistfully at Hilda and Draco. Is this what an elder sibling is like? "You're stuck with us for life, I'm afraid. Family is important, kid. Make no mistake, no matter how busy I am—I will _always_ make time for you."

* * *

><p><em>AN: I don't like the ending—too rushed for me. And yeah, quite a bit of Charlie and Hilda in this chapter. Now, I know that Cornelius is __**younger**__ than old Tom, but for the sake of this story, let's just imagine that he's Tom's age. Also, some have been asking me about the ages of the students, so here goes:_

_Hilda Potter: Seventh Year_

_Alexis Longbottom: Seventh Year_

_Joshua Lieben: Seventh Year_

_Percy Weasley: Seventh Year_

_Penelope Clearwater: Seventh Year_

_Fred and George Weasley: Fifth Year_

_Cedric Diggory: Fifth Year_

_Christian Black: Third Year_

_Neville Longbottom: Third Year_

_Draco Lupin-Black: Third Year_

_Hermione Granger: Third Year_

_Ginny Weasley: Second Year_

_I hope this clears up some of your questions, and I'm debating whether to make the year setting for this story in the twentieth century—somewhere between the years 2000 to 2005, as I want to bring in some muggle technology, and I'm not too sure about the muggle technology during the nineteen century._

_Anyway, I hope that you've enjoyed this chapter, and please read and review! Reviews give me inspiration to update!_


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